Metal pot for line casting machines



Oct. 20, 1936. H. R. FREUND METAL POT FOR LINE cAsTING MACHINES Filed March 29, 1935l 2 sheets-sheet i IVENTOR A Yen/yagy`. Fecnd ATTORNEYS sheets-sheet 2 hI|.|1III,III Il IIIIIIII l l ATTORNEYS Oct. 20, 1936. H. R. FREUND METAL POT FOR LINE CASTVING MACHINES I Filed March 29.4 19:55

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Patented oct. 2o, 1936 UNITED STATES 2.058.318 METAL Por Foa LINE cas'rmc. MACHINES Herman R. Freund, Brooklyn, N. Y., r to Intertype Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y.; a corporation of New York Application' March 29,

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to line casting machines of the general class disclosed for example in U. S. Letters Patent No. 436,532, granted September 16, 1890, wherein composed lines of character bearing matrices are presented to the front of a slotted mold into which molten metal is forced from the mouth of a metal pot alined at the opposite side of the mold slot to cast therein type bearing slugs which are subsequentlyA ejected from the mold, 'after which the matrices are returned to their places of storage in the machine.

The presentinvention relates more particularly to improvements in the metal pot for machines of this general class or similar machines for casting type slugs, whereby the temperature of the molten type metal may be controlled more eiectively than heretofore and thus enable thecasting of slugs which are more perfect with respect to soldity of the vbothrportlon thereof and quality of the type face thereon; irrespective of diierences in speed of casting or shape and size of the slugs. t

The usual form of metal pot now employed for machines of this general class comprises a main cast iron or other metallic reservoir adapted to contain a supply of type metal and having a pump well fitted with a piston for ejecting molten type metal from the pot and an integral molten metal conducting throat communicating with the pump well and extending upwardly therefrom, the throat having a molten metal conducting passage which is relatively shallow vertically and iiared laterally beyond the width of the pump well to awidth corresponding to the maximum length ofmoldintended to be used in the machine. Gas burners or electric heating elements are usually employed, either within or around the outside of the reservoir and also along the throat, particularly near the ejecting mouth at the upper outer end thereof for maintaining the type metal in molten state. i

Since the metal reservoir and throat of the usual metal pot are integral or at least metallically connected parts, it is diflicult in practice to maintain the proper heat conditions throughout the pot. Forv example, when casting at high speeds or producing large slugs, the heat applied to the mouth of the throat must be reduced because suflicient heat is then supplied to the throat by absorption from the greater amount of molten metal being used. When casting slowly or producing small slugs, more heat must be applied to the mouth of the throat because less molten metal is then being pumped through the 1935, serial No. 35,754

(ci. :z2-'sm throat and consequently less heat is absorbed thereby from the molten metal. Excessive heat cannot be supplied to the molten metal in the reservoir to compensate for slow casting and deiicient heating at the mouth of the throat be- 5 cause the tin constituent in the molten type metal deteriorates rapidly if the temperature is too high; and the temperature of the molten metal in' the reservoir cannot be reduced to compensate for rapid. casting and excessive heating at the 10 mouth of the throat since such would result in j inferior quality of the type face on the slugs.

The primary objects of the present invention are to overcome such objectionable conditions and to facilitate production of good quality slugs 15 on machines of the general class referred to and also to enable the heating of the metal pot to be accomplished more economically. To these ends, the invention provides a metal pot having a reservoirsection vand a separate throat section thermally insulated from the reservoir section, these y sections being provided with means for supplying heat thereto from independent sources. The invention further provides a. metal pot having a throat section and a metal injecting mouth constructed as separate thermally insulated parts, each of these parts having means for heating it separately so that the temperature of the mouth of the throat and that of the throat section between the throat mouth and the reservoir may be more accurately or closely controlled if desired.

By so constructing the metal pot the body of molten metal normally lying in the throat section near the upper end thereof while-the machine is idle may be maintained at the most suitable temperature for the casting'of solid slugs with a good quality of type face, it being understood that upon each metal injecting stroke of the piston in the pump well, the molten metal lying in the throat near its upper end is used in casting the 40 slug. By Yproviding a separate throat section thermally insulated from the reservoir portion,

a hot spot or independently heated area can be maintained for heating the metal lying in the throat to the most desirable temperature for cast 45 ing good quality slugs, irrespective of whether the 1 slugs are being cast rapidly or slowly or whether large Vor small slugs are being produced, and the amount of heat supplied to the reservoir portion of the pot may be reduced to a minimum or to an amount merely suilcient to keep the metal therein in a uid state. Moreover, the improved metal pot provided by the present invention enables all of the heat supplied to the heat insulated and independently heated throat section to be absorbed effectively by the relatively shallow body ofmolten metal lying in the throat instead4 of being conducted away, from the throat by the reservoir portion, as would occur if the latter were integral with the throat, and heat supplied to the independent reservoir portion will be entirely absorbed thereby for heating the large body of type metal in the reservoir without being conducted away by the throat section as would occur if the latter were integral with the reservoir.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and combinations and arrangements of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out more particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a metal pot for line casting machines, constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section, on an enlarged scale, of the mouth of the metal pot as shown in Figure 1, the throat mouth being shown in contact with the back of a slug casting mold and a une of matrices closing the from; of the mold;

Figure 3 is a top plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the metal pot shown in Fig. 1, the jacket cover being removed; l

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4 4 in Fig. 3; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing another embodiment of the invention.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several iigures.

The present invention is applicable generally tothe metal pots ofline-casting machines and it is shown in the `present instance as applied to a metal pot of the type usually employed in machines of thisclass. It is to be understood how- 40 e'ver that the invention is not restricted to the precise construction shown since equivalent constructions are contemplated and such will be included within the scope `of the claims. Y,

In the present instance the metal pot as shown in Figure 1 is similar to that commonly employed in commercial line casting machines, it comprising a type metal reservoir I containing a pump well 2 in which operates a reciprocatory plunger or piston 3 which is lowered in the well in the well known manner to force molten metal therefrom,

an elongated throat 4, usually cast integral with the metal reservoir extending upwardly therefrom and-having a molten metal delivery passage 5 therein which communicates at its lower end with the pump well, this metal delivery passage Vbeing usually flared laterally to provide a widened mouth which communicates with openings i in a mouthpiece l secured to the upper end of the pot throat. The mouthpiece 1 is adapted asiusual to contact with and close against the rear side of the mold -8 and thus close the slug casting slot or cavity r9 therein at its rear side,

- -when themetal potis advanced preparatory to f the casting operation in the-usual way, and the c5 front ofthe mold isadapted to contact with a line of character bearing matrices M the characters on which are adapted to aline with the mold slot and the mold slot being closed at the front by the matrix line, when the mold is advanced in '70 the usual way preparatory to the Ycasting operation, the parts being shown in casting relation in- Flg. 2. When the plunger 3 is forced down'- wardly in the pump well v[the ,molten type metal is forced upwardly through the metal delivery 'passageandthroughtheopeningsiinthe cast.

mouthpiece into the mold, in the usual well known manner.

T'he present invention is applicable to metal pots which may be supplied with heat in different ways. As shown in the present instance, the metal 6 pot is heated electrically, the molten metal reservoir I and the lower portion'of the throat l being provided with an electric heating element I 0 that the portion thereof in the throat ofthe pot 15 will lie somewhat back from the mouthpiece to avoid spilling, and it will be 'seen from Figs. 1 and 3 that the slug is always cast from some oi' the shallow body of metal a lying in the upper end of. the throat. Since the quality ofI the slug 20 body and type face are directly affected by the temperature of this body of metal, it is desirable to accurately control the temperature conditions at this point in the pot\throat and to maintain such temperature conditions as uniform as pos- 25 sible and 'at the temperature best suited to the size' of the slugs and the speed at'fwhich they are being In metal .pots of the usual construction, the entire throat and reservoir are integral i'n the 30 sense that they constitute a unitary metallic structure, but according to the present invention, the throat portion of the pot is formed separately from the reservoir portion and is thermally insulated therefrom, thus enabling the temperature 3 conditions, particularly at the upper end of the throat containing the body of molten metal used at each stroke of the plungerfor casting to be more accurately controlled by avoiding loss of the heat supplied to the throat through conduction 40 therefrom, as occurs when the throat and reser voir portions of the pot are metallically connected parts, as heretofore. Accordingly and as shown iin Figs. `1 and 4, the present invention provides a separate throat section Il comprising upper and 45 lower wallsv I5 and I6 whlchare either integral or joined together at'the sides to provide a throat passage I'I at the upper end of which may be securedthe mouthpiece 1. 'I'he separate throat portion Il containing the throat passage I1 may 50 be secured to the reservoir portion of the pot in any suitable manner that will thermally insulate it therefrom. In the present instance, a bar I8 of any suitable hard heat insulating material such as commercial Transite, a composition com- 55 posed of a mineral cement, asbestos iiber and magnesia, is employed for this purpose, the lower end of the upper separate throat section I4 being formed with a'recess I8 and the upper end of the :metal delivery throatsection 4 being formed 60 with a recess 20, these recesses extending above and below the metal passages 5 and I'I and receiving portions of the width of the insulating bar Il, the depth of the respective recessesv being such that when the insulating bar is inserted in place, gaps 2'I and 22 will be left between the upper throat section I l and the'throat section l which extends from the pump well in the reservoir, to

avoid conduction or transfer of heat that wouldv bar I8, and the latter is formed with a slot perature and cause such body of metal to respond more quickly to desired changes in the temperature thereof, the outer side of the bottom wall I6 of the throat portion I4 is provided with a recess which provides a relatively thin wall 26 between the throat passage I1 and a heater. In the present instance, an electric heater embodying suitable electric heating coils 21, is inserted in this recess, the heating coils lying against the relatively thin wall 26. The heater 21 in the recess 25 alords means for heating the body of metal a normally lying in the throat passage I1, and this heater may be controlled by a separate rheostat or the like for varying the heating eects thereof, the relatively thin wall -26 enabling chang in the heating effect of the heater 21 to quickly alter the temperature of the body of metal a lying above it, as desired, according to the size of slugs to be cast. The heater 21 thus serves in efr'ect to produce a hot spot across the oor of 'the In order to provide for adequately heating the .entire upper throat section Id comprising the walls I5 and I6 and the sides connecting them, as well as the mouthpiece 1, a heater 28, which may comprise electricvheating coils as shown, is provided, this heater preferably extending along the entire extent of the underside of the separate throat section IE, the heater 28 being separated from the heater 21 by a-metal shield 29, and a cover plate 30 being preferably provided which is suitably secured to the outer side of the throat.

section I to retain both heaters in place and to hold them firmly in contact with theY surfaces of this throat portion.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 5 wherein the upper throat section is thermally insulated from the reservoir portion of the pot, and the mouth of the upper throat section, instead of being integrally or metallically united therewith is thermally insulated at a point adjacent to but back of the mouthpiece to enable independent control of the vtemperature of the mouthpiece and increase in the elciency of the hot spot area in the throat by entirely isolating it thermally along the bottomof the throat.` For example, a throat section I Il may beemployed which is connected to but thermally insulated from the section l by an insulating bar I 8* and securing screws 23e, this throat section I I being provided with independent electric heating coils' slot 3l extending therethrough and forming acontinuation of the metal passages I1`and 32, screws 35 extending into the insulating bar 33 but not passing through it and securing the throat sections I1a and 3| and the insulating bar 33 together. In order to partially isolate the throat section MS thermally from the short mouthpiece section 3I, a gap 36 is provided at the underside of the heat insulating bar 33 which joins these sections but in order to permit adequatev conduction of heat into the upper wall Iiin of the throat section Il, metallic contact is provided between this wall and the short throat section 3l at the upper side of the heat insulating bar 33. Heat may be supplied to the wall I5* `of the throat section I4a as well as to the short throat section 3I from a suitable heater such as an electric heat'- ing 'unit-31 provided along the underside of the mouthpiece.

By thermally insulating the throat of the metal pot from the reservoir thereof, as herein described and providing the independently controllable hearters I0 and 21 and 28 or 21 and 28, the proper amount of heat may be supplied to maintain the body of metal a at the proper temperature to cast solid slugs with a good quality of type face, whether the slugs arej large or small. The provision of a throat heater for the thermally insulated throat section and the arrangement of such heateragainst a relatively thin wall along the bottom of the metal passage in the throat enables the body of metal a to respond quickly to temperature changes as may be desired to maintain the quality of slugs cast at different casting speeds. Moreover, the thermally insulated throat section may be maintained at a temperature considerably higher than that of the metal pot reservorso that as new metal replaces that at the. point a in the throat, due to the successive casting of slugs, such metal may be instantly supplied with the required amount of heat By separating the mouth section of the throat f from the section thereof intermediate the mouth and the reservoir and providing separately controlled heaters for the intermediate throat. section and the mouth section, a further renement of temperature control may be obtained, this arrangement aiording maximum facility for altering temperatureconditions as the requirements change for casting slugs of maximum and minimum sizes at different speeds.

I claim as my invention:-

l. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot comprisinga reservoir for molten metal, a pump well contained in said reservoir to receive molten metal therefrom, and a passage leading from said well and reservoir for conducting molten metal therefrom, said passage comprising a plurality of sections thermally insulated one from another.

2. In or `for a slug casting machine, a metal 1 pot comprising a reservoir for molten metal, a

molten metal therefrom, said passage comprising a plurality of sections thermally insulated one from another and providing smooth continuous surfaces. for theuninterrupted flow of molten metal from one section to the other.

3. In or for a` slug castingI machine, a metal pot comprising a reservoir for molten metal, a pump well contained in said reservoir to receive molten metal therefrom, and'apassage leading from said well and reservoir for conducting molten metal upwardly to a discharge point above the levelof metal in therres'ervoir; said me 'comprising separate metal sections, and connecting members joining said sections together, said connecting members having thermal insulating characteristics and being provided with metal conducting passages contiguous with the walls of the passages in the separate metal sections.

pot comprising a reservoir for molten metal, a pump well contained in said .reservoir to receive molten metal therefrom, a passage leading from said well and reservoirfor conducting' molten metal therefrom, said conducting passage comprising a plurality of sections thermally insulated one from another and extending to a point remote from the reservoir. and means for heating said sections separately.

5. In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot having a reservoir to contain molten metal and a pump well contained within said reservoir to receive molten metal therefrom, and a throat extending upwardly from said well exteriorly of the reservoir and at a side thereoffor conduct' ing molten metal from said well, at least one wall of said throat comprising a section thermally insulated from the remainder of the throat and the pump well and reservoir.

6. In orV for a slug casting machine, a metal pot having a reservoirrto contain'molten metal and a pump well within said reservoir to receive molten metal therefrom, and a throat extending upwardly from said well exteriorly of the reseraocasvs voir and at a side thereof for conducting molten metal from said well, at least one wall of said throat. at a point along its. exteriorly extending rtion, having a thermally-insulated connection' vwith the remainder of the throat.

7.' In or for a slug casting machine, a metal pot having a reservoir to contain molten metal' and a pump well within s aid reservoir to receive ,molten inetal therefrom, and a throat extending .upwardlyfrom said well exterior-ly of the reser- 4. Invor for a slug casting machine, a metal.

voirand at a side thereof for conducting molten metal from said well, at least one wall of said throat. at a point along its exteriorly extending portion, having a thermally-insulated connection with the remainder of the throat, and independent heating means for the portion vof the throat at the side of the thermally-insulated connection remote from the reservoir. l

8. In or for a slug casting machine. a metal pot having a reservoir to contain a supply ofmolten metal and a pump well within said reservoir to receive molten metal therefrom, a throat extending upwardly from said well exterioriy of the reservoir and having a molten metal injecting mouthpiece at its upper end, the throat comprising an intermediate section adjacent to the mouthpiece having a thermally-insulated connection between at least one wall thereof and the mouthpiece and having-a thermally-insulated connection with the portion of the throat extending from the pump well, and means for separately heating the reservoir and said intermediate section of the throat.

' AHERMAN RQFREUND. 

